Jira Image of the Day: Troubleshooting Access and Permission Problems

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Concept Relates To

Application Type	Jira (Jira Work Management and Jira Software), Jira Service Management, Jira Core
Deployment Type	Jira Cloud, Jira Data Center

What is shown?

A flow chart for troubleshooting Jira access and permission problems.

Visit: Admin > User management > Users
Visit: Admin > System > Pemission helper

Visit: Project settings > People (Cloud)
Visit: Admin > Work items > Permission schemes (Cloud)
Visit: Admin > Work items > Work type security schemes (Cloud)

Visit: Project settings > Users and roles (Data Center)
Visit: Admin > Issues > Permission schemes (Cloud)
Visit: Admin > Issues > Issue security schemes (Cloud)

What can we learn?

There are many levels of permissions in Jira. That means many areas for administrators to check when users report access problems. When troubleshooting a user problem, start at the beginning.

Let’s say a user reports that they can’t see a specific Jira item. First, verify the user can login. Sometimes the user doesn’t have application access and you’ll need to add it. Other times, it’s purely user error. The user thinks they are logged in, but they aren’t. (This is more common in Data Center.)

Next, verify the user has the needed project access and item access. Keep working your way through all the permission areas in the diagram until you find the culprit.

With all the permissions, schemes, and settings, there are many places to look when users report access problems. Luckily, there’s a feature to help troubleshoot permissions.

Permission helper feature in Jira Cloud

Use the Permission helper feature to uncover why a user can or can’t interact with an item. For example, a user might not be in a needed group or project role. Also use this tool to aid your investigation.

There are a few ways to get to it. First, go to the System page in the admin area and click the “Permission helper” link, in the left nav, as shown above. Next, access the Permission helper from a Permission Scheme. Go to the Permissions Schemes page in the admin area. Open any scheme and look for the Permission helper button on the top right. In Jira Data Center, you can also access the Permission helper from the “Admin” menu in an individual item.

Here’s how the Permission helper solves problems.

Scenario

A user reports they cannot delete item ACQ-1. Use the helper to find the reasons why. Enter the user’s name, enter the item ID, enter the permission to check (e.g., “Delete Issues”), and click the form submission button.

As shown in the screenshot, the user does not have the “Delete Issues” permission. Additionally, it shows that no one else has the permission either. This is by design. I recommend disabling item deletion application-wide. You can never get a deleted item back so it’s better to simply close items you don’t need anymore. From here, either add the user to the needed permission or teach them how to close items instead of deleting them.

Tip: The Permission helper won’t check inside workflows or third-party app settings. You’ll need to check those permission settings manually.

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